I argued many of the same things for years, before removing our 40+ plugins from WP.org. The directory is infested with spam, fraud, malware, and anonymous trolls. What's the point?

One point needs correction, however: there actually is something wrong with affiliate links and paid reviews, because in many cases they are illegally published. Anytime someone is publicly endorsing a product without disclosing the quid-pro-quo relationship behind their words, it is a form of consumer fraud and is specifically outlawed in the United States, the European Union, and elsewhere:

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking

Personally I've never had an issue with critical reviews that are sincerely offering feedback. The problem with much of the WordPress community is that so many users are purposefully sabotaging their competitors, paying for fake reviews, or simply trying to trash small businesses who refused to offer them "free support" -- in other words, the reviews lack merit to begin with.

When I mentioned these sentiments to WP.org admins, I was mocked and repeatedly told that "reviews are part of listing your products to customers" when in fact my team was donating free and open source code to the community -- not even freemium code. These users most certainly were never our customers, that is for sure...

Another good reason why anonymity hurts FOSS feedback.